Back to Shiz
by Sale
Summary: Following Elphaba's hasty departure in the Emerald City, Glinda goes back to school to tell Nessarose what happened.  Musicalverse Glessa.


**Disclaimer:** Wicked isn't mine. But if it were…oh, the possibilities!

**Author's Note: **Musicalverse. Oneshot. Duh. I've never tried to write anything OTHER than humor before. I don't even know why this came out the way it did. I don't even _write _ femslash! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little anomaly!

**Back to Shiz…**

_By Sale_

As the wind whistled through the trees, the last few rays of sunlight began to wane over the horizon and the evening darkness extinguished the final inkling of twilight. Glinda stared up at Shiz University with bated breath, drawing ever closer by the second as custodians rushed to illuminate the last of the streetlamps. The last time she'd tread those very cobblestones, the last time she'd left that building, Elphaba had been right there, by her side, brimming with optimism and eagerly anticipating the events to come. That had changed once they'd actually reached the Emerald City, and now Glinda was on her own, perhaps forever.

The only reason she'd returned to school at all was, incidentally, because of Elphaba's sister. She thought it would be better if she were the one to break the tragic news to Nessarose, instead of having her hear it from Madame Morrible, or anybody else who happened to be equally apathetic.

She walked through the halls towards the girls' dormitories as if in a trance, still trying to mentally come to terms with what had happened herself. As her mind wandered, trying to focus on the task at hand, her feet seemed to automatically carry her to Nessa's room. Since Madame Morrible had stayed in the city an extra day, the blonde had decided to hurry back to Shiz, purely for the younger girl's sake. Even though she didn't know Nessarose very well, she did know that Horrible Morrible wasn't exactly the best person to hear devastating, life-changing information from.

She knocked on the oak doors three times. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened, and the younger Thropp sister glanced upward at the preppy blonde. From the looks of things, she was just about to turn in for the night. "Mind if I come inside for a bit?" Glinda uttered, her voice nearly cracking from the stress and the shock. Nessa nodded, escorting her sister's roommate into her own living quarters.

Nessarose had never looked younger or more helpless to Glinda than at that moment. It was almost as though she already knew something had gone horribly wrong back in the Emerald City. The crestfallen aura of gloom obscuring the socialite's typically effervescent demeanor had tipped her off. Glinda found that she couldn't even meet the handicapped girl's gaze as she sat on the edge of her bed. Her hands trembled as she clutched her handbag, racking her brain for the speech she'd planned to give. Sadly, the words, which had been at the tip of her tongue just moments before, were lost.

As Glinda's eyes began to glaze over with tears, Nessa awkwardly clenched her armrests, not sure as to what to do. After a period of uncomfortable silence, she finally whispered, "Elphaba isn't coming back, is she?"

The tears were, at that point, streaming down Glinda's face, completely ruining her make-up. She hiccupped as she slowly shook her head, confirming Nessa's suspicions. The younger girl tentatively, cautiously moved closer to the emotional train wreck; practically numb herself with the sudden grief. She reached over to her nightstand, grabbed a box of tissues, and handed it to the blubbering blonde, who gratefully grabbed a handful of them, dabbing away at her eyes. Just as her own vision had begun to blur, her heartache sinking in at last, the blonde managed to choke out, in a barely audible voice, "Can I hug you?"

"What?" Nessa articulated, unsure as to whether she'd heard right.

Glinda cleared her throat and repeated, "Can I hug you?"

The younger girl was clearly taken aback. From what she'd heard and witnessed in school, "Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands" typically just bounced about, superficially hugging anyone and anything that she could feasibly wrap her arms around. The notion of the most popular girl in school asking permission to hug anyone was, in short, absurd.

Yet the blonde was still there, nearly shaking with grief, the mascara running down her face and mingling with her tears. Neither one of them could deny what had she'd just iterated. Nessarose hesitantly nodded. Before she could even react, her sister's best friend all but lunged at her, knocking her backwards in a fashion that toppled Nessa's chair over, dumping them both onto the floor in a haphazard embrace.

Fortunately, Glinda wasn't particularly heavy, and the back of the chair was well-cushioned. From the look of things, the older girl appeared unfazed by the accident. In fact, she tightened her grip, still trembling as Nessa returned the gesture, finally letting her own pretenses fall in light of the tragedy. They remained there, sobbing in each other's arms, long into the night, crying each other to sleep.

The next morning, sunlight filtered into Nessa's room, catching the dust particles and creating a warm, golden glow. The heartbroken teenager awoke to find herself alone, carefully tucked into bed. The wheelchair was upright once more, within her reach. According to the clock, classes weren't due to start for another hour. Except for the lingering scent of perfume and Nessa's own vivid memories of the night before, there was no shred of evidence left to show that Glinda had even been in the dorm at all. She could still feel her sister's best—and only—friend's arms around her, even then.

Quickly and instinctively, she snatched her sketchbook and a piece of charcoal from her nightstand, desperate to establish that the encounter hadn't only been a dream. At that moment, she realized the tome had only been filled with various studies of Boq, that boy from the Ozdust ballroom, and some rather lousy attempts at poetry.

_That_, Nessa decided, as she struggled to cling to the fading memories, frantically blocking Glinda's golden locks onto the empty page in front of her, _is about to change…_


End file.
